Duval hoping to have another swell time in Saskatchewan

Given a do-over in the 2009 Grey Cup, Duval kicked a 33-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Montreal Alouettes a 28-27 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the never-to-be-forgotten 13th-man game.

Now Duval is poised to visit Saskatchewan for the second time as one of the CFL alumni members who will take part in the Lions Celebrity Weekend, which is to run from Thursday to Sunday in Regina. Duval was also a featured guest at last year’s inaugural event in Yorkton.

“I was a little nervous — I’m not going to lie — the first time coming up (to Saskatchewan for the 2015 charity fundraiser),” Duval said from Auburn, Ala.

Duval’s worst fears were not confirmed.

“Everybody was very receptive,’’ he recalled. “They were very nice. I really enjoyed myself and that’s why when we started talking about doing the event this year in Regina, I told Aaron (Nagy, event organizer) right away, ‘If we do, make sure I’m coming,’ because I really enjoyed it. I think it’s for a great cause.”

Part of the proceeds will be directed to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Along with Duval, Roughriders alumni Fred Perry, Marcus (Chunky) Adams, Marshall Hamilton and Larry Hogue will be part of the proceedings. More information can be found by visiting http://www.celebrityweekend.sk.lions.ca.

Roughriders fans likely don’t need any more information about what for them is an infamous game in franchise history.

To recap: With his team trailing 27-25, Duval was wide right on a 43-yard field-goal attempt on what appeared to be the final play of the 97th Grey Cup game, played at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

For a few fleeting moments, the Roughriders and their fans celebrated a victory.

Then everyone saw the flags. The Roughriders had been penalized for too many men on the field. Given another try, from 10 yards closer, Duval drilled the ball through the uprights.

“I remember going out there for the first one,’’ Duval said. “A lot of people still argue with me to this day, but if you actually watch the film and the way I stand, before I took off to kick the ball I saw the flag coming out. My eyes tracked straight to the flag and I pretty much kicked the ball straight at the flag.

“Right away, all the (Saskatchewan) fans and players started rushing to the field and celebrating and our team started getting upset. But if you go back and watch, you’ll see that I immediately put my hands up, saying, ‘There’s a flag.’

“I didn’t use a tee block to kick off of. I just used a little piece of tape to mark the spot. You see me go grab the spot, start walking it up the 10 yards, and put it back down.

“I remember Ben Cahoon, our holder and a Hall of Famer and one of the best all-time receivers in the CFL, just came up and said, ‘Just kick it,’ so I lined it up and pretty much hit a line drive.”

Such an outcome seemed unlikely when Luca Congi’s convert of a Darian Durant touchdown run gave Saskatchewan a 27-11 lead at 4:28 of the fourth quarter. However, the Anthony Calvillo-led Alouettes roared back and put Duval in position to attempt the game-winning kick.

Ultimately, Duval emerged as a Grey Cup hero, but what if his first miss had stood and flags had not flown?

“I jokingly told everybody very quickly that if it would have ended up the other way, I probably wouldn’t have been on the flight going back to Montreal,’’ Duval recalled. “I probably would have had a moving company at my house going ahead and packing everything up and figuring out where my next stop was going to be.

“I don’t think (a miss) would have gone over too well. Fortunately, it didn’t go that way, so I didn’t have to find out.”

Duval found out once again how passionate Roughriders fans can be when he visited Yorkton in June of last year.

“You had a lot who said, of course, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t have got a second chance. The game should have been over. We should have won,’ ’’ he said. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t my fault that they had extra men on the field. That’s just the way the rules are. I just did my part.

“For the most part, everybody was very receptive and said, ‘Hey, you went out and hung in there. You missed the first one, but you had a second chance and you did your job.’ They couldn’t fault me for that.’’

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